Zero's Happy Ending
by Vile.EXE
Summary: Many of us know the tragic story of Zero and Iris. I didn't approve, so here is MY rendition, telling what I believe should've happened. AU, possible OOC. Rated for safety, I guess.
1. Two Fated Encounters

**Well, here's my first Megaman story, and it likely won't be my last. I've had this idea in my head for a while. Like I stated earlier, this is my version of how the story of Zero and Iris should've gone. Also, a surprise guest shows up, who is a major part in this story. I chose this title because, well... it's obvious, isn't it? I'll be skipping around a few times, since some parts of the story are exactly how they are in the games. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Nobody in this story is owned by me. CAPCOM owns them. However, the "project" mentioned is mine.**

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Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 1: Two Fated Encounters

Year 21XX. The threat of the Maverick Sigma has been averted for the third time thanks to the efforts of two brave Reploids, Megaman X and Zero. Their combined efforts have managed to keep the peace in the world. Right now, the two Maverick Hunters are on some down time at the Hunter Base. Just then, a transmission is received on the monitor by the navigator, Alia.

"Incoming transmission!" The pink-armored Reploid exclaimed.

"Put it up on the monitor." Came the voice of Signas, the leader of the Maverick Hunters. The screen crackled with static, and soon, the face of a Reploid appeared, wearing a black hat and having what looked like a red beard. Zero, the red-armored Hunter, gave a smile when he saw the face.

"Ah, Colonel!" He stated. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It certainly has, Zero." Colonel replied in his traditional accent.

X, Alia, and Signas were all confused, so Zero filled them in. Colonel was, obviously, the colonel of the Repliforce, a Reploid group who fought to protect humans, similar to the Maverick Hunters. He and Zero often met up at crime scenes and fought together against Mavericks. At other times, they met just to have friendly duels. That made them both friends and rivals.

"So why did you contact us?" The blue armored X asked with a hint of hostility, causing a slight scowl from Colonel.

"Whoa, easy X." Zero told him. "Go on, Colonel."

"Thank you." Colonel replied, his scowl gone. "Now then, I have received information about a massive Maverick attack that will occur in a few days. We at the Repliforce wish to join forces with the Maverick Hunters to stop this attack. What say you?"

"I'm good with that." Zero stated. Turning to his friends, he asked, "Any objections?" No reply came from X, Aila, Signas, or Douglas, the green-armored helper Reploid. "No?" Zero continued. He turned back to Colonel. "In that case, proposition accepted."

"Excellent!" Colonel said. "The General, myself, and my sister will be arriving at your base soon to make plans."

"Wait, sister?" X cut in.

"Yes, her name is Iris." Colonel continued. "She is a great tactician, and I'm sure you'll get along with her. We will be there in three hours." With that, the transmission ended.

"I never knew Colonel had a sister." Alia said.

"Yeah. Colonel's told me about her, but I've never met her." Zero explained.

"Well, we should prepare." Signas stated. "Alia, Douglas, prepare the conference room." The pink and green Reploids gave a simultaneous salute, then left the room. Signas then turned to the main entrance as it opened, showing a white-armored Reploid, obviously a medical Reploid. He put his right arm in front of his chest and bowed to the navy blue Commander.

"Greetings, Commander Signas." The Reploid said politely. "My name is Lifesaver, a medical Reploid. I wish to join the Maverick Hunters. I have a new medical project in the works, and I believe your technology can perfect it."

"Hmm… sounds promising." Signas said to himself. "We'll give you a shot."

"Thank you, sir." Lifesaver said with a salute. "You will not be disappointed."

"I'll lead you to the medical bay." X told the white Reploid. Lifesaver nodded and the two of them headed out.

'Let's see just how good he is.' Zero thought to himself.

Three Hours Later

The Hunter Base Conference Room had been fully prepared for the arrival of the Repliforce in 20 minutes. Signas had taken his position at the front of the table, with another seat to his right for the General. Aila, Douglas, X, Zero, and many others were already there, but Lifesaver was nowhere to be seen.

"Douglas, could you fetch Lifesaver?" Signas asked. "Everyone must be present." The green Reploid nodded and walked out. He reached the bay in five minutes and found the medical Reploid working with a massive computer. In a giant tube was what looked like a pale blue energy ball with angel wings.

"Uh, Lifesaver?" Douglas called to him. The white Reploid didn't turn around. "I hate to pull you from your work," Douglas continued, "but the conference will start soon, and everyone has to be there." Then, Lifesaver glowed with a white aura, which separated from his body and turned into a clone of him.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot leave my station." Lifesaver finally spoke. "This project is too important for me to stop. My clone shall take my place. It will refer all information to me." Douglas wasn't sure, so he simply nodded, and walked out with the clone. He returned to the Conference Room with one minute to spare.

"That's not Lifesaver!" Alia exclaimed.

"Yeah I know." Douglas replied, slightly annoyed at her for stating the obvious. "He told me his new project was too important to stop working on, so he sent this clone. He said it would relay information to him." Signas pondered this for a moment, but he was interrupted by Zero.

"They're here!"

The door opened to reveal three Reploids. Colonel was in the center, in his standard white, black, and red outfit with gold trim. His energy saber was on his back. To his left was a massive golden Reploid, decked out in a blue belt with a green gem in the front, and blue and red bands around his hands and feet. He sported a pointed grey mustache. On Colonel's right was another Reploid, this one a female. She had long light brown hair, with a blue and yellow band on it, and a red hat on her head. Her armor was red and blue, shaped like a dress. She had deep forest green eyes. Unknown to all, Zero was captivated by the girl.

"Ah, you must be General." Signas greeted the giant gold Reploid. "I am Signas, the Commander of the Maverick Hunters."

"It is a great pleasure." General responded with an accent like Colonel's, shaking Signas's hand. "You all know Colonel, courtesy of Zero." Zero had snapped out of his trance by this time. General continued. "The girl next to him is his sister, Iris." Iris smiled and waved after being introduced.

"Hello, everyone." She said with an accent like that of her brother. Upon hearing her voice, a blush dominated Zero's face. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

_'That beauty is Iris?'_ He thought, oblivious to the fact that he was staring at her again. _'Great. I've heard that Colonel is protective of her, so he probably won't let me near her!'_ Iris happened to glance in Zero's direction, and noticed him staring. Realization struck Zero, and he quickly straightened up. _'Oh man, she noticed! She'll probably think I'm a freak!'_ To the contrary, Iris was still looking at him. Her cheeks were tinted pink.

_'Why was he staring at me?'_ She thought to herself. _'Does he… like me?'_

"Iris? *whistles* Iris?" Colonel said to his sister, waving his hand in front of her face. Iris snapped out of her trance, slightly shocked. "You feeling all right, Iris?" Her brother asked.

"Yeah, I'm all right." She replied, still a bit dazed. Giving a light smile, she faced forward again. She couldn't help glance back at Zero, her blush deepening. _'I'm better than all right.'_ She thought. _'I think I'm falling in love.'_

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**Not a bad intro, I think. You're probably wondering, "how does Lifesaver cause a happy ending for this story?" You'll just have to wait and see for that!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	2. The Plans Are Made

**Here's my next chapter. It's kinda short, but it works. I also decided to slightly humiliate Zero, although not publicly. It also has a bit of nostalgia from the first three X games. Enjoy!**

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Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 2: The Plans Are Made

Colonel and Iris took their seats at the conference table in order to start the meeting. Colonel sat on Signas's right, and Iris instinctively sat on her brother's right. However, she unknowingly sat right next to the crimson Maverick Hunter. Zero happened to glance to his left when he heard someone sit down, and blushed as red as his armor when he saw it was Iris.

_'Oh, man!'_ He thought to himself. _'She had to sit next to me! Stay cool, Zero. Don't want to look like a fool in front of everyone.'_ He tried to straighten up and lose his blush, but unluckily for him, a casual gust of wind from a window blew some of Iris's hair right in his face. A tantalizing smell emanated from the chocolate locks, inflaming Zero's nostrils and deepening the crimson shade on his face. His mind was running on overdrive. _'Perfume?! Is she tempting me or something? Easy, Zero, easy!'_ Shaking his head, he managed to get his thoughts in order, discarding the blush as well.

"Okay, everyone," Signas began, raising his hand to start, "let's start making the plans. We must be fully prepared for this attack. General, if you would."

"Thank you Signas." The golden Reploid replied. "Now then, based on our information, we have learned that there are three targets of this attack." As he finished the sentence, he pressed a button, causing a virtual map to appear over the conference table. General continued speaking. "The targets are as follows: Sigma Tower, X-Hunter Base, and Doppler Base." As he named off each target, a red dot appeared over each location. X and Zero simultaneously sighed with displeasure.

_'Déjà vu.'_ They thought at the same time. The two of them had to go to those places again? Iris gave a worried look after hearing Zero.

"What's wrong, Zero?" She asked innocently. Even though it was Iris asking him, Zero kept his cool, though he was still slightly annoyed.

"One thing I don't like about fighting Mavericks is having to go to the same place twice." He explained. "X and I had to clear those places out once before."

"Not to mention all of those places used to be under Sigma's control." Added X, who was on Zero's right. Iris shuddered. Colonel had been told about Sigma during his duels with Zero, and he, in turn, told Iris.

"Indeed." Signas said, who had heard the whole exchange. "That is the only thing that the targets have in common."

"We have come to two conclusions about the attacks." Colonel stated. "This group is either:" Colonel raised his index finger. "A. Out to salvage Sigma's weapons for their own gain," Colonel then raised his middle finger as well. "Or B. Remnants of Sigma's followers, determined to get what 'rightfully belongs' to their leader."

"At any rate," General began, "these three areas are under Federation control, and these attacks are felonies. However, they are planning on sending massive waves of troops, at least 1,000 per area." Douglas went wide-eyed.

"W-wow." He choked out in awe. "No wonder you want to join forces with us." General simply nodded. Then, an alarm began to blare, and the room started flashing red, shocking everyone. One of the dots on the map, the one indicating the X-Hunter Base, began flashing rapidly.

"Looks like they're making their move sooner than we thought!" Alia exclaimed.

"X, Zero, get to the transporter, quickly!" Signas ordered.

"Colonel, you go as well!" General called. The three warriors gave a quick salute and a unanimous "Yes, sir!" before heading to the front of the room. They stepped on the massive transportation pedestal, and Aila, accompanied by Iris, ran to the navigator's station. Both of them started pressing buttons.

"Coordinates have been set for grid point 00: The X-Hunter Base at the North Pole!" Alia exclaimed.

"Engaging teleportation!" Came Iris's voice. She pressed a large button, activating the transporter. A bunch of holograms shaped like green rectangles encircled the three warriors, then started spinning around them slowly. They picked up speed, and they were soon spinning rapidly. The area around them glowed bright green, and with a flash of light, the three of them were gone, teleported to the base. Iris gave them a worried look as they vanished.

_'Brother… Zero... good luck.'_ She thought.

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**The next chapter will take place at the X-Hunter Base, and it will involve a meeting with an old "friend." If you think you know who it is, leave a review with your guess. Naturally, reviews on how you felt about this chapter are welcome as well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and keep your eyes peeled for more!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	3. Return To The XHunter Base

**Well, here it is, Chapter 3. Only one person chose to review with a guess. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Capcom owns the Megaman franchise, as well as its characters. However, since Vile MK-3 doesn't show up in Megaman, I do own him, as well as the Dragon Ride Armor.**

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Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 3: Return To The X-Hunter Base

X, Zero, and Colonel arrived at their destination in a flash of green light, and were horrified at the sight. The massive front gate of the abandoned base had been blown completely off, pieces everywhere. Approximately 20 Federation guards were dead, some with saber wounds, others with blast holes. The rest were injured greatly, many of them unconscious. One guard, however, was still conscious, but he was very weak. The three warriors rushed to his aid.

"Hey, are you alright?" X asked the guard.

"Uh…" the guard groaned. "A massive army attacked us… they were led by a Maverick in a massive Ride Armor…"

"Did you see his face?" Zero asked. The guard shook his head in a negative fashion, then groaned again before falling unconscious. Colonel's communicator started beeping, and Iris's voice appeared.

"What's going on over there?" She asked.

"We have many casualties outside the gate." He told the two navigators. "Send some rescue teams immediately."

"Affirmative." Iris replied. Colonel ended the transmission, then turned to X and Zero.

"Rescue teams are on their way to get him and the other survivors." He told the Maverick Hunters. "We must hurry inside, or we'll be too late." X and Zero nodded, then the three of them rushed through the now open doorway. Soon, they encountered a troop of around 300 soldiers. One soldier, seemingly the leader, noticed the three warriors. A look of shock and horror dominated his face.

"Gah! M-M-Maverick Hunters!" He yelled. "Troops, battle positions!" The small army readied their weapons, blasters and sabers alike. "CHARGE!!!!" The commander shouted. The blaster-wielding soldiers unleashed a fusillade of laser fire, while the saber users almost blindly rushed toward them.

"A blind blitzkrieg, eh?" Colonel commented.

"They think they're strong, but they aren't." X said calmly. "Let's show them that." Zero and Colonel nodded and drew their sabers while X readied his Buster. Zero and Colonel rushed toward the soldiers, slicing them to pieces at a rate of 2 per second, while X's Charge Shots decimated the soldiers 30 at a time. Within five minutes, the army was destroyed, leaving only the lead soldier shaking in fear. A smirk appeared over Zero's face.

"Care to do the honors, Colonel?" He asked.

"My pleasure." Colonel replied. He then phased out while separating into two.

"W-where did he go?" The now frantic soldier asked in horror. "Tell me! Where is he-AAAGH!" Before he could finish, Colonel's saber ripped through his stomach, cutting him in half. The top half landed on the floor with a loud clank, and the bottom half fell to its knees, then laid face-down on the ground.

"Another nuisance taken care of." Colonel said coolly. He gave a thumbs-up to X and Zero, which was returned, then they rushed down the corridor, deeper into the base. Unfortunately, a ways down the long corridor, the path split into two.

"We'll have to split up." Zero said. "X, you go down one path. Colonel and I will take the other." The blue Maverick Hunter nodded. "Question is," Zero continued, "which path do we take?"

"I have an idea." X stated. He put his hand to his head to activate his communicator. "Alia, come in! This is X!"

"This is Alia, go ahead X." Came the voice of the pink navigator.

"The path has split into two." X informed her. "I want you to analyze the enemy signals in each path."

"I'm on it." Alia replied. Being the ace navigator she was, it didn't take her long to finish the analysis. "The paths eventually converge, but the left path shows more enemy signals."

"Okay then." X told her. "Me, Zero, and Colonel will be splitting up. Have Iris keep tabs on Zero and Colonel, while you stay locked on me."

"Got it." Alia said. X ended the conversation, then turned to his comrades.

"The left path has more enemies than the right." He informed them. "Since there are two of you, you'll stand a better chance on that path than I will."

"Agreed." Colonel said. "Let's go, Zero!" The crimson Hunter nodded, then the two of them sped down the left hallway, while X headed down the right.

A ways into his corridor, X was contacted by Aila.

"You're near the enemies. Be careful." She told him.

"Right." X replied. He was soon met by a platoon of a mere 200 soldiers, but they hadn't noticed him. X decided to take them by surprise, so he hid behind a column and started cycling through his weapons, looking for one to use. He eventually found one and selected it, changing his armor to brown and yellow. Stepping out from the column, he yelled, "Surprise!" Before they could react, X fired his chosen weapon: Ray Splasher. Scores of light particles erupted from his Buster, mowing down his opponents. When the attack finished, all but two were left alive. Scared out of their mind, they looked at each other, nodded, then counted to three before raising their blasters and shooting each other in the chest. They fell to the ground, successful in their double suicide. X couldn't help but chuckle, but he quickly shook it off and pressed onward.

Zero and Colonel, on the other hand, didn't have such good luck. The platoon they found had around 600 soldiers, who had noticed them right off the bat and started unleashing heck. The two swordsmen had to hide behind two columns to avoid being hit.

"What do we do now?" Colonel asked.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Zero called back, eyes closed, rubbing his temples with his fingers. Suddenly, his eyes shot open. "Bingo!" He yelled while snapping his fingers. He converted his hands into his dual Busters, which hadn't been used in some time. He began charging energy, then he stepped out from the column. Before Colonel could speak, Zero fired a big energy blast from his left cannon at the armada, decimating about 100 soldiers. He quickly followed with a blast from his right cannon, wiping out about 100 more. He quickly reformed his left hand and grabbed his Z-Saber. He then fired a horizontal sonic slash, cutting about 200 more soldiers to pieces. Needless to say, Colonel was impressed.

"Your turn!" Zero called to him. Colonel nodded and stepped out from the column. He grabbed his own saber and thrust it skyward. A lightning bolt shot through the ceiling and struck the saber like a lightning rod, charging it with energy. Colonel then phased out, but not for long, as he phased in right in the center of the army. He thrust his saber onto the ground, causing lightning to shoot outwards, frying the remaining soldiers to a crisp. Zero's mouth hung open upon seeing this.

"Every person has an ace up their sleeve." Colonel chuckled to him.

"Brother, is everything all right?" Iris called in, fraught with worry.

"Worry not, Iris." Colonel assured his sister. "We defeated them with ease." Iris can be heard sighing with relief as Colonel ends the transmission. He motions to Zero that they should get going. Zero shook off his shock before they continued. Just as Alia said, the paths remerged, reuniting the three warriors. After a brief discussion of what happened to them, they continued on. Eventually, they reached the intended target area: the armory. Inside, the room was littered with blast marks and corpses, but strangely, all of the weapons were present and intact.

"Okay, this makes no sense." X said. "The place is trashed, dead guards are everywhere, the assailant or assailants are gone, but they didn't take any of the weapons?"

"You know me." Said a familiar voice from nowhere. "Killing is my passion! Ah hah hah hah!" Then, from the shadows, a Maverick walked out. He was decked out in reddish-orange armor with silver trim, but his form was unmistakable, especially the T-shaped hole in his helmet and the cannon on his right shoulder.

"Long time no see…" Zero began. "Vile."

"So this is the Vile you told me about." Colonel commented. "He looks different that the way you described. I thought you said he was blue?"

"That was Vile MK-2." Vile told him. "I'm Vile MK-3. I'm much more powerful than I was before."

"Why are you here, anyway?" X shouted.

"Ain't it obvious?" Vile laughed. "I'm the leader of those Mavericks you fought! Just because I don't like taking orders doesn't mean I don't like dishing them out! We came here looking to kill anybody we found, but aside from the guards, there was nobody! I was about to leave, but then I learned that you were here, so I stuck around. Now that you're finally here X, I can get what I've always wanted." As he finished that sentence, he jumped over to a massive yellow Ride Armor equipped with gatling guns, rocket launchers, and a sword arm. "Your death!" Vile finished. He jumped into the cockpit and activated it, causing the Ride Armor to spring to life. "This is the strongest Ride Armor currently available: The Dragon! Your time has finally come, X! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

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**To those who don't know, Ray Splasher was the weapon acquired from Neon Tiger in X3. Zero's combo attack was the one he used in X2 if you fought against him. Finally, Colonel's attack was used during the second fight(or only fight if you used Zero) with him in X4. The next chapter is a battle: X, Zero, and Colonel VS Vile MK-3. Stay tuned, because you won't want to miss it!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	4. A Rather Rowdy Reunion

**Here it is: the battle scene. X, Zero, and Colonel VS Vile MK-3! Enjoy!**

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Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 4: A Rather Rowdy Reunion

Vile MK-3 lurched the levers in the cockpit forward with his hands, activating a massive jet booster in the armor's back. The Dragon Ride Armor charged toward the three warriors at an incredible speed, firing off rockets from the launchers in its shoulders. X took a frontal position, firing shot after shot at the rockets. During this, Zero and Colonel rushed forward to attack. Right before they reached him, however, Vile suddenly pulled the levers back, deactivating the booster. A surprised look took over their faces.

"You guys aren't the only ones who use tactics!" The red-orange Maverick called to them. Vile then pulled the movement levers up, causing his carrier to jump skyward. The armor raised its sword arm into the air, as if planning to slam it down. However, Vile pressed the levers downward, causing his armor to drop down like a rock. X knew what was coming.

"Jump, now!" He called to Zero and Colonel. They managed to hit the air a mere half-second before the Dragon slammed down. The impact caused the ground to shake violently. "The old jumping earthquake, eh?" X said while in the air in a taunting tone, which was completely unlike him. "He must be out of date."

Obviously Vile heard him. "I'll show you out of date!" He yelled. The Maverick turned the armor to face the blue Maverick Hunter and pointed the sword arm forward. Pressing the movement levers forward again, Vile charged toward X with the sword outward, planning on skewering him. X was still in the air, making him unable to move. "HAHAHAHA! Stuck, X?" Vile taunted. "Sorry about your luck!" However, he underestimated X's smarts. The blue Hunter charged his Buster, then pointed it to the side and fired. The force from the blast sent X flying in the opposite direction, preventing him from becoming a metallic shish-kebob. "Rrrgh! Cerulean rat!" Vile yelled. Before he could turn around, however, he was ambushed by Colonel. Quickly raising his sword arm to block him, Vile met him with a death glare (despite the fact that he can't see his face). Then, he started chuckling. "You are such an idiot!" The red-orange and silver Maverick pressed a big grey button, activating the rocket launchers on his shoulders. Before they could even fire, however, two sonic booms dashed past Colonel and made contact with the launchers, slicing the metal that held them to the carrier. Both launchers fell to the ground with dull thuds. Needless to say, Vile got mad.

_*Scene switch to Hunter Base*_

Alia and Iris were on the verge on panic. They had been trying to get in contact with the three warriors, but were having absolutely no luck. Something was jamming the frequency.

"Still no luck!" Iris yelled.

"Calm down!" Signas ordered. "Try and pinpoint their location!" Alia and Iris nodded, and thanks to their expertise, they soon had the map up. They panned the map through and through, and soon found three familiar energy signals: one red, one blue, and one white. However, there was a large yellow dot at that location at that location, and based on the way the dots were moving, they seemed to be fighting.

"What's that yellow signal?" Douglas asked.

"I'm analyzing it right now." Alia answered. The analysis was rather slow, due to encrypted data. Soon, she had an answer. "It appears to be a Ride Armor, Dragon Model."

"Dragon Model?" General asked in disbelief. "That model was reported stolen from Federation troops a week ago!"

"There's something else." Alia continued. "I've got a lock on who's riding it. I can't tell who it is, but the data seems to be similar to something else I've seen. I'll compare it to the Federation database." Files streamed onscreen, but constant comparisons yielded no matches. Finally, one file showed up and matched the data. Alia opened the file, and gasped when she saw the data's owner.

"What is it, Alia?" Iris asked, worried.

"The rider of the Dragon Armor…" she began, "is Vile."

_*Scene Switch To Battle*_

Vile, infuriated over his launchers being lost, unloaded wave after wave of gatling gun fire from the left arm. He kept following X, but his shots wandered and strayed. Zero and Colonel had to keep dodging as well. When the Dragon Armor turned its back to Zero, he noticed something strange: the booster on its back seemed to lead directly to the armor's core. Then he got an idea, but he couldn't let Vile hear it. He had to relay it to X. Zero turned to his fellow swordsman.

"Keep him busy." He told Colonel. "I've got an idea." Colonel nodded and rushed toward Vile. Vile focused on him, clashing his sword arm with Colonel's saber, while Colonel taunted him to no end. Meanwhile, Zero managed to reach X.

"X, listen up." The red Hunter stated. "The booster in the armor's back looks like it leads to the core. If you can fire a full power Charge Shot through it, it might blow the whole thing to bits, and Vile along with it!"

"Sounds good, but I need you and Colonel to keep him busy while I charge energy." X replied. "It'll take some time." Zero nodded, then rejoined Colonel on the battlefield. X primed his Buster and began charging energy. Colonel and Zero continued to fight with the angered Vile. Vile attempted to slash Zero with the massive sword, but he jumped over Vile and dodged with ease. Unfortunately, Vile was too smart for him, as he lurched the armor's right hand toward the red Hunter and grabbed him. Vile held Zero in front of his face. Colonel tried to jump over to save him, but the arm swung around and nailed him. Colonel landed in front of the massive armor.

"You've gotten rusty, Zero!" He cackled. "Once I'm done with you, I'll go after X." Zero happened to glance over Vile's shoulder and saw X charging energy. He saw X give him a nod, indicating he had finished charging. Zero looked back to Vile and gave a smirk. Vile chuckled. "Smiling at your demise? How noble." Now it was Zero's turn to chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Zero isn't smiling at his demise." The injured Colonel told him. Vile turned to face Colonel, who had gotten to his feet. "He's smiling at yours." The Maverick turned back to Zero, who was still smirking.

Suddenly, the hunter shouted. "X, NOW!!" Before Vile could turn around, he heard a shot being fired. Soon, he felt a massive pain in the bottom half of his body, and he yelled in pain. A Charge Shot ripped through the chest of the Dragon, forcing the arm to drop Zero. Slowly turning his head to look behind him, Vile saw a smirking X, smoke coming from his Buster.

"NOOOO!!" Vile screamed. "Why did it have to be X?! GYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" As he let out that scream, light shined from the hole in the Dragon. Colonel could see what was coming.

"It's going to blow! Hit the deck!" He yelled to the red and blue Hunters. Everyone hit the floor as the light got brighter. Soon, the light became blinding, and a massive explosion was heard, accompanied by a voice: Vile's.

"THIS ISN'T OVER, MEGAMAN X!!!!"

When the light faded, Vile and the Dragon are gone, in pieces around the room. X gave a sigh of relief at the fact that Vile is gone. Then, the communicator beeps. X activates in, and is almost bombarded with the frantic voice of Alia.

"X, are you all right?!" The navigator asked, worried. "We detected an explosion, then the visual was lost!"

"Don't worry, Alia." X assured her. "The explosion was from Vile and the Dragon Ride Armor. Zero, Colonel, and I are all alive and well." A sigh from both Alia and Iris was heard. "We're on our way back."

"Right. We'll beam you the transport area." Iris said before ending the transmission. Within a few seconds, the transport beacon appeared, but it wasn't as big as normal.

"The signal is weak for some reason." Colonel noticed. "We'll have to go in one at a time."

"Agreed." X said.

"Yo, wait up." Came a somewhat weak voice. They turned to see Zero limping a bit. He had taken the most damage of all of them. X went through the beacon first, then Colonel, and finally Zero.

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**This is my first Megaman battle scene, so I hope I did all right. Kinda short, I know, but I think it's good. Don't expect any more, since they aren't the focus of this fic. Stay tuned for more!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	5. An Odd Way To Start A Relationship

**Chapter 5 is here, and this is where it gets a bit T-rated. Enjoy!**

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Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 5: An Odd Way To Start A Relationship

Alia and Iris were worried. The transport beacon was weak, and they thought they wouldn't make it. Soon, the beacon glowed brightly, and X stepped out from the light.

"Don't worry, everyone, they're coming." He assured them. The beacon glowed intensely again, and another form revealed itself: Colonel. Iris ran to her brother's side almost instinctively.

"I'm so glad you weren't hurt, brother!" Iris cried. Colonel gave a small smile, but it soon faded.

"Too bad I can't say the same for Zero." He said glumly. Iris looked confused, but the beacon glowed a third time, and the injured Zero walked through. Iris gasped when she saw him.

_'Oh no, Zero!'_ She thought. Zero rose his head to see everyone, then chuckled weakly.

"Guess I took more damage than I thought." He said weakly. He started to limp forward, almost stumbling. Iris rushed forward to help him, but as luck would have it, right when she reached him, Zero tripped up on his own feet and fell over on top of her, knocking her to the ground as well as knocking off her hat. His eyes were closed during this, but he took one sniff, and a familiar scent overwhelmed his nostrils. Opening his eyes, he saw that his face was buried in Iris's long chocolate hair. He blushed intensely, and his reaction was to tense up his hands, but he felt something round, small, and soft in his left hand, and he heard a small moan. Zero flinched, blushed even more, and quickly removed his hand.

_'Please tell me I did not just grab what I think I grabbed!'_ He thought to himself. Despite his hopes, Zero had indeed grabbed Iris's right breast. He quickly pushed himself off of her, eyes still closed, and backed up. He was panting, and his blush dominated his face. _'Oh, man! She's gotta be ticked at me!'_ Opening his eyes, he saw Iris sitting up, her face flushed. She didn't look angry; in fact, Zero couldn't tell how she was feeling. He quickly looked away. "Uh… sorry about that, Iris." He sputtered out. Fearful of what Iris or Colonel might do, Zero quickly ran off.

To Zero's contrary, Iris wasn't mad at all. She was so happy to see him, then this happened. _'D-did I do something wrong?'_ She thought to herself, bringing her hands to her chest. When her hands brushed over her right breast, her eyes shot open, and it all clicked into place. _'He must've thought I'd be mad.'_ She turned to her brother. He looked back, gave an understanding smile, and nodded. Iris smiled, grabbed her hat, and ran after Zero.

In his room, Zero's mind was running a million thoughts a minute, but the dominant one was this: _'Jeez, I'm screwed! Colonel will probably kill me for that stunt!'_ When he was on the verge of panic, he heard a knock at the door. "W-who is it?" He stammered.

"Zero, it's Iris. Please open the door. I'm not mad at you." Came the reply. The words "I'm not mad" seemed to ease his mind. He unlocked the door, and it opened to reveal Iris. Like she said, she wasn't mad, but she did look worried. "Zero, why did you run off?" She asked him.

"Sorry, Iris." Zero replied. "I thought you'd be mad after… _that_ happened." He looked away when he said that. "I was afraid either you or Colonel would come after me, so I bolted." He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw that it was Iris's hand. Turning back to meet her gaze, he saw a small smile on her face.

"Accidents happen, Zero." She told him. "Don't worry about it. I'm not mad, and neither is my brother." Zero let out a deep breath out of relief. Iris started to leave, but she gestured to Zero to follow her. "Come on Zero. Brother said he had something to tell us." Zero nodded and followed her. When they reached the main area, they found everyone waiting for them.

"Glad you could console him, Iris." Colonel said. She giggled slightly. "Okay, everyone, I have some news. First off, we received a message from the Maverick group led by Vile. They said they have disbanded due to Vile's death, so we won't have to worry about them attacking the other two areas. Iris, could you come here, please?" The brunette Reploid walked over to her brother's side. "Now then, to continue my news. The Repliforce will be leaving this area for some time for a mission. It is dangerous there, so I ask permission to leave Iris here during that time." Zero and Iris looked at each other and blushed.

"Are you sure, Colonel?" X asked. The Repliforce warrior nodded.

"The area we are going is war-ravaged. It is too dangerous for those who can't fight, and I don't want to lose Iris. This is the only place I can trust her to be while I'm gone. Is it fine by you?"

"I see no problem with it." Signas said. "Very well. Iris may stay at the Hunter base as a navigator while the Repliforce is gone."

"Thank you, Signas." Colonel thanked him while taking a bow. Everyone was smiling, most of them because they had a new ally. Zero and Iris, however, were smiling for much different reasons.

_'Now I can be closer to Iris!'_ Zero thought. _'Don't worry Colonel, I'll protect her with my life.'_

_'I get to stay with Zero! Thank you, Brother.'_ Iris thought. _'Maybe now I can finally confess my feelings for Zero!'_

* * *

**Ah, nothing like humiliating Zero to improve a dull day! Don't think I hate ya, Zero! This chapter transitions into Megaman Xtreme 2 and Megaman X4, so I'll be skipping around a bit. Chapter 6 focuses on Lifesaver.**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	6. Lifesaver's Life Work

**Here's Chapter 6. It is actually what happens with Lifesaver during and shortly after Chapters 2-5. Enjoy!**

* * *

Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 6: Lifesaver's Life Work

Ever since he was given a chance at the Hunter Base, Lifesaver had kept himself in the medical wing. The project he had mentioned to Signas had consumed him, as he constantly toiled over it, calling it his life's work. At first glance, the project seemed to be nothing more than a pale blue energy ball with angel wings. In reality, it was a very powerful medical project. No one but Lifesaver knew what it did, as he revealed no details whenever he left the medical wing. None had seen the project since he joined, either. The first person besides Lifesaver to see the project was Douglas, who came into the medical bay a mere three hours after he came to the base. When the green Reploid entered the massive room, the white-armored Reploid didn't even notice him until he spoke.

"Uh, Lifesaver?" He heard Douglas call to him. Too absorbed in his work, Lifesaver didn't turn to face him. "I hate to pull you from your work," Douglas continued, "but the conference will start soon, and everyone has to be there." Lifesaver couldn't leave his work, so he used one of his many abilities. Focusing his energy, Lifesaver began to emanate a white aura. The aura then left his body and morphed into a clone of Lifesaver.

Lifesaver decided to speak. "I'm sorry, but I cannot leave my station. This project is too important for me to stop. My clone shall take my place. It will refer all information to me." He didn't hear Douglas speak, but he knew they left when he heard the footsteps. As he continued clacking away on the computer ten minutes later, he noticed that the energy ball flashing had flashed white. Lifesaver smiled at this. _'Ah, the first sign of completion.'_ He thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard an alarm go off, and the doors to the bay opened. Whirling around, he saw his clone.

"The meeting has been adjourned." The clone spoke in a monotonous voice. Lifesaver's clones were unable to feel emotions. "There is a Maverick group that has attacked the X-Hunter Base at the North Pole. Their motives are unknown, but X, Zero, and Colonel have been transported to the location."

"Thank you for informing me." Lifesaver responded. The clone gave a salute, then glowed white. It soon became an aura again and returned to Lifesaver's body. The medical Reploid turned back around and continued working on his project. However, it wasn't more than 20 minutes later when he was contacted by Iris.

"Lifesaver, casualties have been found outside the X-Hunter Base." She told him. "Many are dead, but there are some survivors. We need rescue teams sent to the location, stat!"

"I'm on it." He replied. Iris ended the transmission, and Lifesaver concentrated his energy again. 'I'll need a lot of help for this.' He thought. The white aura appeared again, only this time, when it left his body, it split into twelve identical auras. The auras all formed into clones of Lifesaver. "Head for the main room." Lifesaver told them. "You are needed as a rescue team." The clones all saluted, then they walked out of the medical bay. Then, an odd sound occurred, capturing Lifesaver's attention. Turning back to the computer, the energy ball is flashing white. _'It nears completion! Excellent!'_ Lifesaver thought. His thoughts were soon distracted again, as ten minutes later, his clones returned with many unconscious Reploids. "Put them on the recovery tables." He told them. After they were all placed, Lifesaver scanned them for vital signs. Almost all of them were merely unconscious and would wake up soon. One, however, the leader, had weak signs. Lifesaver could do nothing to reverse his condition, and the guard perished soon.

Lifesaver felt depressed. He could do nothing to save his life. Then, a bright light shined behind him. When he turned around, the energy ball was glowing pure white, the wings much longer. Lifesaver smiled widely. "It… it's complete!" He shouted. "My ultimate project is finally complete!" He rushed to the computer and rapidly typed some buttons on the keyboard, causing the giant tube surrounding the ball to lower. The energy ball floated over to Lifesaver, who grabbed it with both hands. The energy ball shattered into many tiny energy balls, and Lifesaver absorbed them into his body. He felt an impressive power within him. "Time to see if this project was worth all that effort." He told himself.

He walked towards the now-dead lead guard. When he reached the corpse, he crossed his arms over his chest and yelled, "Initiate Restoration Project!" The white Reploid glowed with a familiar white aura, only this time, the long angel wings from the energy ball appeared on his back. He covered the deceased Reploid with the long wings, and many small energy particles emanated from them. The particles infused themselves into the inactive robot, which soon glowed with the same aura as Lifesaver. A blinding flash of light shot out from the aura, causing Lifesaver to shield his eyes. When it died down, the white Reploid removed his arms and saw that the aura had vanished. Then, the guard's eyes started to shake, then they slowly opened. Lifesaver lit up like a neon sign. "Excellent!" He shouted. "My project is a success!" The guard Reploid heard him and turned to his direction.

"Uh… where am I?" The guard asked, holding his head steady with one hand. "I remember being attacked by a massive Maverick army, being injured… then I passed out."

_'At least he retained his memories.'_ Lifesaver thought. Clearing his throat, he spoke. "You're in the Maverick Hunter Base. In truth, you ended up dying from your injuries, but thanks to my new project, you have been returned to life."

"A Revival Program!" The guard exclaimed. "I can't thank you enough, Mr. …?"

"Lifesaver." The white Reploid answered. "It was no problem. If you don't mind, I'd like you to accompany me when I show my comrades my new project." The guard nodded in approval, then attempted to stand on two feet. He was a bit wobbly, but he could walk. He and Lifesaver made their way to the main room. When they got there, they were in luck: everyone else was there. They seemed to be in a discussion, but they needed to know about this.

"Attention, everyone!" He called to them. They all turned to face the duo. "I'm sorry if you were all busy with something, but you need to hear this. The project I was working on has been completed."

"Cool!" Zero said. "So, what exactly does it do?"

Lifesaver gestured to the guard, who spoke up. "When I was brought here, I was in grave condition. Lifesaver couldn't save me, and I perished soon after I arrived."

"If you died, how the heck are talking to us?" Douglas cut in, slightly desperate to know.

"Let me finish." The guard continued. "Anyway, soon after my death, Lifesaver's project became complete. He used the project on me, and it brought me back to life." The group gasped.

"So, his program is a Revival Program." Signas commented.

"Yes, and it is completely effective." Lifesaver said. "It completely restores the Reploid, body and mind. The one revived retains its memories and personality. The only problem is that it requires a full body. The program will work on dead Reploids with damaged bodies, but it won't work on those that have been blown to pieces."

"A minor setback." Signas told him.

"Does it have a name?" Iris asked.

"Well," Lifesaver started, "since it gave this man another chance to live, I've decided to give it the codename: 'New Life.'"

"Excellent work, Lifesaver." Signas commended. "It would be my pleasure to offer you a full-time position here at the base."

"Thank you, sir!" Lifesaver said with a salute. "I will be a great help."

"Good to have you, Lifesaver!" X told him.

* * *

**This fic is nearly done! The next Chapter is how Lifesaver begins to create a happy ending for Zero. Stay tuned!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out!**


	7. Everything Goes Wrong

**For those who read my notice at Chapter 6's end, I made a miscalculation. Lifesaver's role will be in Chapter 8. At any rate, enjoy!**

* * *

Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 7: Everything Goes Wrong

Lifesaver's New Life project was a big success, but in the months since then, no innocent deaths had occurred, so the New Life was not needed and was soon forgotten by even Lifesaver. Lifesaver did help out X and Zero during their mission at Laguz Island. They had found special items called DNA Souls, which Lifesaver managed to turn into helpful items with the help of Iris. However, not long after that mission, the Repliforce returned from the war-torn land, so Iris had to go back with her brother. Although he didn't show it on his face, Zero was quite sad that she had to leave. Neither of them had confessed their feelings for each other, leaving Zero somewhat worried that Iris didn't feel the same way. Lifesaver felt bad for him, but he had a good feeling that they would meet again. That feeling came true about a couple weeks later, when it was learned that a Maverick attack had totaled the Sky Lagoon. X and Zero were sent to the area, and they met Iris while they were there. He got a surprise when Douglas entered the medical bay.

Lifesaver heard the bay door open. "I've got a guest for you, pal." Douglas told him. Lifesaver turned around and saw Douglas supporting a familiar brunette Reploid. She had some damages on her body.

"Iris!" Lifesaver exclaimed. "What happened to you?" Iris frowned.

"The Sky Lagoon attack was a Repliforce coup." She told him sadly. "My brother started it, and I ended up hurt. When I learned that he was the leader, I couldn't go back to the Repliforce, so I made my way here."

"I see." Lifesaver said. "At any rate, you took some damage, so I'll need to make repairs." Iris nodded and got on the recovery bed, assisted by Douglas. The green Reploid then left the room, seeing as how he was never one to watch repairs being made. The damages were minimal, as repairs were made within five minutes. Iris soon emerged.

"Hey, did Zero get back yet?" Iris asked the green Reploid. Right before he could say anything, however, his communicator bleeped. He activated it, and he and Iris soon heard Zero's voice.

"Hey, we finished up at the Sky Lagoon." The red Hunter told him. "The Maverick causing the problem was a chimera Maverick codenamed Egregion. We destroyed it, but Colonel refused to stop the coup. Looks like we've got more work to do. Anyway, we're on our way back. Zero out." He cut the transmission, and Iris grinned happily.

"Guess I got my answer." She said. That was what she said, but not what she thought. _'I get to work with Zero again! He makes me so happy.'_ She and Douglas turned to head to the main room, but the medical bay doors slid open again, showing Lifesaver.

"I decided to give myself a break from the medical bay, seeing as how no other injured Reploids or humans were brought here." He stated. Douglas and Iris gave a small smile, then the three of them headed off. When they reached the main room, X had already come through the portal. Zero appeared soon after, and it took all the energy Iris could muster to keep from running towards him and jumping on him. When Zero caught sight of her, he blushed slightly, as he was surprised to see her.

"Iris? What are you doing here?" He asked, not trying to sound like he didn't want her there. Iris gave a sad look and lowered her head.

"I made my way here after I learned that my brother Colonel started the coup." She said sadly. "I didn't know where else to go." Zero frowned. He felt bad for her. The blond Hunter walked to the brunette and placed a hand on her shoulder. She raised her head and her green eyes met Zero's blue ones.

"Well, I'm glad you came here, Iris." He said with a small smile. "You don't have to worry. You'll be safe here." He held up his hand in a thumbs-up. Iris smiled.

"Thanks, Zero." She replied. Zero turned around to walk off, but he soon felt something soft on his left cheek. He looked in that direction, and saw that Iris had kissed him. Both of them blushed like mad, earning a few snickers from X and a short, stout, gold Reploid named Double, who had recently joined. The moment was broken by an alarm going off.

"We've got trouble!" Alia called to everyone. "Eight Maverick signals have been detected! One of them is Dragoon!" The name Dragoon stuck out in X's mind. He and Zero saw Dragoon, a member of the 14th Hunter Unit, at the Sky Lagoon. Apparently, he had gone Maverick. Zero and Iris snapped out of their little trance. Iris ran to the navigator station.

"Let's go, X!" The red Hunter called to his blue comrade. X nodded.

"Target Maverick: Magma Dragoon!" Iris shouted. "Engaging transportation!" The transporter beacon its intense green color, and X and Zero stepped through.

The eight Mavericks, named Web Spider, Cyber Peacock, Storm Owl, Magma Dragoon, Jet Stingray, Split Mushroom, Slash Beast, and Frost Walrus, were all strong in their own right, but like all the past Mavericks, they had one flaw: their elemental weaknesses. Thanks to X and Zero's Weapon Get System, they gained weapons from the Mavericks and used them against the others. Iris was happy to be able to help Zero again, but she was worried about her brother. He feared that her brother would have to fight Zero, but she wanted to stay with Zero. When the eight Mavericks were crushed, they had one place to go: the Repliforce Launch Base. An hour after they made it there, a transmission was received.

"Alia, come in! This is X!" The voice of the blue Hunter spoke. Alia put the transmission on the monitor, showing X's face. "I have some bad news. The Final Weapon of the Repliforce has already been launched into space. I've sent you the coordinates of it, so we can use the transporter to get there."

"What about Colonel?" Signas asked. "Did you see him?"

X gave a deep, depressed sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. He was guarding the weapon, believing it hadn't launched yet. We were forced to fight him, and…… we destroyed him. Zero's not feeling like himself because of that."

Those words pierced Iris like an arrow through her heart. Her worst fears were realized. Her brother had been killed by the one she thought she loved. Along with her sadness, a rage burned in her heart, but it didn't seem like her own. A dark voice spoke to her: "You know what to do…"

_'Who… who or what are you?'_ Iris asked in her mind.

"I am your brother's fighting spirit…" the voice said. "When Colonel died, I was released from his body… You have a link to him, so I came to you… Use my power, and take revenge for your brother…"

_'No!'_ Iris mentally yelled to the voice. _'I won't hurt Zero! He didn't mean to kill him!'_

"You softie…" the voice told her. "Looks like I'll have to take over…" Iris's eyes suddenly went dull and half-closed. A dark aura formed over her hand. "I control you now… Now we will take revenge…" Iris's eyes fully opened again, and she walked to the massive computer. She began typing rapidly on the keyboard.

"What are you doing, Iris?" Alia asked her. She didn't respond. When she finished typing, she pressed the activation button for the transporter. She rushed toward the beacon.

"Iris! What's gotten into you?" Signas asked. Iris said nothing as she entered the transporter.

"Now you'll get yours, Zero…" the dark voice spoke as Iris vanished.

* * *

**Cliffhangers rock! Calm down, fans: this story will get better.**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	8. Feelings Revealed And Lifesaver's Plan

**Here's where things start to get interesting, and where Lifesaver helps out Zero, although the latter doesn't show until late. Enjoy!**

* * *

Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 8: Feelings Revealed And Lifesaver's Plan

Alia, Signas, Douglas, Double, and Lifesaver were stunned. Iris had completely ignored them and transported herself to an unknown location.

"Alia, check the coordinates of the destination! See where she went!" Signas ordered. Alia nodded and accessed all area coordinates, and soon found a match. The result was shocking, however.

"She… she sent herself to the Final Weapon!" Alia exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Signas yelled.

"Why would she do that?" Double asked. Before he could get an answer, the transporter beacon glowed again, and X and Zero stepped through. X noticed the odd look on their faces.

"Hey, what's wrong, everyone?" He asked them.

"If you must know, she took off on us!" Douglas told them. Both Hunters wore confused looks on their faces. "*sigh* Iris just transported herself to the Final Weapon!"

"She _what_?" Zero asked, very shocked.

"We tried to talk to her, but she acted like we weren't even here!" Lifesaver informed them. He didn't show it, but Zero was scared. Very scared.

_'Oh no… is it because of what I did to Colonel?'_ The red Hunter thought. _'Please don't do this to me, Iris…'_

"Hey, where'd Double go?" Douglas asked. Zero snapped out of his funk and looked around. Indeed, the gold rookie Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

"No time to worry about that!" X yelled. "We need to stop the Final Weapon!"

"X is right." Signas said. "Alia, prepare the transporter."

"Right!" She responded. Since Iris had just went there, the coordinates for the Final Weapon were already entered. All Alia had to do was activate it. Pressing the button, the beacon glowed once more, and X and Zero went through.

_'Iris… please be alive…'_ Zero thought as he stepped through the light.

Two long hours went by. X and Zero hadn't radioed in since they were transported to the Final Weapon. Everyone back at the base was getting worried. Soon, a transmission was received from X.

"Alia, come in!" X's voice spoke. Alia put him on the monitor. "You won't believe this, but I found Double."

"Where is he?" Alia asked. X said nothing. He took his left finger and made a slicing motion around his neck.

"What happened to him?" Signas asked.

"I killed him." X said bluntly. "Double was sent to the base to spy on us. I defeated him in combat."

"At least we know you're alright." Signas said. "Where is Zero?"

"Soon after we arrived, Zero and I encountered a fork in the paths." X informed him. "We split up at that point, but we kept in contact. However, I tried to contact him several times after I beat Double, and I got no response each time."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Lifesaver said. "I'm heading up there to check on him."

"Agreed." X responded. "The fork is a simple two-path road. Zero took the path on the right." Lifesaver nodded, and X ended the transmission. Alia quickly activated the beacon again, and Lifesaver stepped through. When he emerged at the Final Weapon, he noticed that it was unusually quiet.

_'They must've taken care of all the Mavericks here.'_ Lifesaver thought. He continued down the long paths, and soon came to a fork, just like X said. One path led left, one path led right. Remembering X's words, Lifesaver headed down the path leading to the right. Throughout the path were Maverick corpses, all covered in slash wounds. _'Definitely the way Zero went…'_ Lifesaver thought as he saw them. Soon, he came to a massive, damaged door. It slowly slid open, and Lifesaver stepped into the large room. There were blast marks everywhere, like a battle just took place. Then, he saw someone in the distance. As he got closer, he noticed that it was Zero. Not only that, he could hear him: he was crying. He noticed something in Zero's arms, and gasped when he saw that it was the body of a Reploid: Iris.

"Zero…" Lifesaver breathed. The red Hunter looked over in his direction, but slowly turned back to Iris. Tears were streaming down his face. "What happened?"

"Iris… she's gone…" Zero choked out. "I killed her…" Zero fell to his knees, still holding Iris's lifeless body. The tears came down harder than before, and he didn't care who saw him. "She used her brother's fighting spirit… and became this monster… I had to fight her… and this is what happened…"

"Sorry to hear that, Zero." Lifesaver said. "I never thought you'd take it this hard."

"You don't understand…" Zero told him. "I…… I…… I loved her!" This caught Lifesaver off guard. "I loved her, and she died by my hands! And what's worse, before she died, she told me she had feelings for me! Now she's gone, and I never got to tell her how I felt…" He broke down again. "I have nothing left to fight for…"

"Snap out of it, Zero!" Lifesaver yelled. Zero looked up at him. "You do have something to fight for. The power that Iris used could not have been just Colonel's fighting spirit. She cares too much about you to attack you herself. I think she was controlled. So, whoever controlled her is the responsible for her death. You do have something to fight for: you must fight to avenge Iris."

"You… you're right." Zero said, tears still in his eyes. He slowly set Iris's body on the ground. "Goodbye, Iris…" He whispered. "I will avenge you… my love." He planted a kiss on her forehead before standing up. He turned to walk off.

Lifesaver felt so bad for Zero. The love of his life had just been taken from him. Then, he noticed that Iris's body was complete. An idea showed up. _'Wait, **life!** That's it!'_ He thought. Lifesaver walked towards Iris's body and picked her up. "Alia, I'm heading back." He radioed in to the base. "Increase the strength of the beacon, because I have a hanger-on with me." When Zero heard the word "hanger-on," he immediately whirled around and saw Iris in Lifesaver's arms.

"What are you doing with her?!" Zero asked, mad. Lifesaver said nothing, then he glowed white and warped out. _'You'd better not do anything bad with her body, Lifesaver…'_ Zero thought angrily. Realizing he could do nothing, he continued on through the Final Weapon.

Alia had the beacon ready for Lifesaver. Like he requested, the beacon strength had been increased. Soon, Lifesaver emerged from the bright green light, Iris's body in his arms. Needless to say, everyone was shocked.

"Is that… Iris?" Signas asked.

"Yes it is." Lifesaver responded. "She was being controlled by an unknown force and ended up being killed by Zero. He was distraught because he was in love with her, and never got the chance to tell her. She had feelings for him as well."

"Poor Zero…" Alia sighed.

"That's all fine and dandy," Douglas started, "but why do you have her body?"

Lifesaver smirked. "I won't tell you what I'm going to do, but I will say this: Zero will approve of it." With that, he walked off towards the medical bay with Iris. When he entered the room, he set her body on the recovery bed, then walked to the massive computer. He checked the status of New Life. The energy ball had returned to its pale blue color. "Hmm, such a long time of no use has drained it of power." Lifesaver said to himself. "I must charge it." He pressed a few button on the keyboard, encasing the ball in the glass it had once sat in. "At this level, it shouldn't take long to charge." Indeed it didn't: a mere two hours later, the energy ball once again glowed white. Lifesaver disengaged the tube and took the energy ball into his body yet again. Wings spread, the glowing Reploid walked over to Iris's body.

"Here we go." He said to himself. Covering Iris's body with his wings, he began the process. Within ten minutes, Lifesaver shielded himself yet again from a blinding light. When it faded, he retracted his wings, then put his head next to Iris's chest to listen for breathing. Soon, he heard a small breath and smirked. "Zero, you will be thanking me for this."

* * *

**You can all see where this is headed, I bet. Oh well. Next up is the reunion!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	9. A Reunion And Confessions

**This is my favorite Chapter of the story. I think I did good with the romance part. Enjoy!**

* * *

Zero's Happy Ending

Chapter 9: A Reunion And Confessions

Lifesaver felt very proud of himself. Since he had brought Iris back to life, he could now ease the pain that Zero felt. However, since Iris took a lot of damage, she didn't wake up right after the process was complete. Lifesaver decided to let her sleep so she'd have energy for when she saw Zero again. While she was asleep, Lifesaver kept tabs on her health. However, soon after she was returned, her scans showed an odd presence in her body. Then, Iris began to convulse.

"This can't be good!" Lifesaver said. He charged energy into his fist, then ran to Iris. "Cure-All Fist!" He thrust his fist into Iris's stomach, transferring the aura to her body. Iris started coughing up what appeared to be a dark aura, which took the shape of a head. Lifesaver recognized whose head it was. "Sigma… so it was you that did this." The Sigma head tried to fly off, but it was hit by a vaccine blast from the medical Reploid and weakened. Lifesaver grabbed a canister and captured it. Then, he heard a small groan behind him. He turned around and saw that Iris was waking up. She sat up and slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh…? I'm alive?" She asked. "But how?" She looked around and caught sight of the white Reploid. "Lifesaver… did you save me?"

Lifesaver nodded. "I used New Life to return you to life."

"Thank you." The girl thanked him. "Wait, where is Zero?"

"He's still up at the Final Weapon." Lifesaver told her. "What do you remember about the past?"

"I remember it all." Iris said. "Meeting everyone, the X-Hunter Base attack, the Laguz Island mission, the Repliforce coup, and…" She stopped and lowered her head. Tears started to form on her face.

"Attacking Zero?" Lifesaver asked. Iris nodded sadly. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you attack him?"

"I didn't." She responded. "My brother's fighting spirit took me over. I could see what my body was doing, but I couldn't control it."

"It wasn't your brother's fighting spirit that overtook you." Lifesaver informed her. Iris turned back to him. "It was this." He held up the canister with the dark aura. "This aura is part of the Maverick Sigma. It was what controlled you." Iris was horrified. Such an evil being almost made her kill the one she loved. Then, Douglas came into the room. When he saw Iris awake, he realized what Lifesaver meant when he said that Zero would approve of what he was doing. Douglas motioned for Lifesaver to follow him. The white Reploid told Iris to stay in the room, and she nodded. When the bay doors closed, Douglas got to talking.

"No wonder they call you Lifesaver." He commented. "You've saved two lives with one shot: Iris and Zero. Reason I say that is because we just got a call from him and X. They've escaped the Final Weapon, which is about to explode. Zero's somewhat emo right now, as he's still grieving over Iris. With her back, we'll probably get the old Zero back!" As he finished that sentence, they both heard what sounded like rocket engines outside. "Speak of the devil, they're already back!" Douglas continued.

"I've got an idea on how to surprise him." Lifesaver said. He went back into the medical bay and approached Iris. "Iris, could you come with us for a moment?" She nodded and followed him out. Right before the three of them rounded the corner to get to the landing pad, Lifesaver stopped Iris. "Wait here for a moment." Iris nodded again and stood up against the wall so she couldn't be seen from outside. The white and green Reploids then walked to the landing pad, where X and Zero were exiting the shuttles. Alia and Signas were approaching from another direction. Just as Douglas said, Zero had his head low in depression.

"Well done you two." Signas commended. "Mission complete!"

"Thank you, sir!" X said with a salute. Zero gave one too, but his had no effort put into it.

"Cheer up, Zero!" Douglas told him. "Lifesaver's got a nice surprise for you!"

"I doubt it'll help." Zero said sadly.

"Oh, trust me, it'll help." Lifesaver assured him. "Now then, please turn to face the south entrance." Zero did as he was told, turning so he was facing the same entrance that Iris was hiding near. "Raise your head and close your eyes." Again, Zero did so. Lifesaver turned to X. "Okay, X. When I give the signal, have Zero start walking." X nodded, then Lifesaver headed to the south entrance to get Iris. "Okay, Iris." He said when he reached her. "I want you to close your eyes and step out into view." She nodded, closed her eyes, and stepped out so everyone (besides Zero, since his eyes were shut) could see her. Alia, X, and Signas gasped simultaneously.

"Is-is that-" Alia began to say, but she was nudged by Douglas.

"Sshhh!" He shushed. "Don't ruin it!" Alia shut her mouth. Lifesaver held up a thumbs-up to X, who nodded.

"Okay, start walking, Zero." X said low enough so Iris couldn't hear.

At the same time, Lifesaver said to Iris, "All right, move forward."

Both Zero and Iris began walking towards each other, neither of them aware of who they were walking towards. X and Lifesaver were walking alongside them, in case they veered off course. Soon, the two Reploids were about a foot apart, so their helpers grabbed their shoulders to get them to stop. X and Lifesaver then walked back to the others.

"Okay, you two can open your eyes now." Lifesaver called to them.

Their eyes slowly opened, and Zero's sky blue orbs were staring directly into Iris's forest green ones, and vice versa. Both of their eyes went wide at the sight of each other. They were both speechless. They stared at each other for about ten seconds before Zero choked out a word.

"I-Iris…?" Hearing Zero's voice caused tears to come to her eyes. She couldn't help herself anymore. Iris rushed toward him and flung her arms around his back. She buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Zero…" She said, her voice breaking. "I thought I'd never see you again…" Zero felt he had to comfort her, so he threw his arms around her waist. Tears started to come to his eyes as well.

"Sshhh, it's all right, Iris…" he whispered to her. "If anyone should be sad, it's me, after what I did… I'm sorry…"

"No, Zero, you shouldn't be sorry." Iris told him. "You didn't want to kill him. I should be sorry for attacking you, even though I didn't want to…"

"Huh…?"

"I was being controlled by Sigma… he made me fight you. I care too much about you to fight you myself…"

"You… do…?" Zero asked.

"Yes…" She told him. This was it: she would tell him how she felt, here and now. "You don't know how much I care about you. Ever since we met, I've had feelings for you. I was always attracted to you, and as a person, you've always made me so happy. I wondered what it was at first, but now I know…" She pulled away from his chest and gazed into his eyes. "Zero… I… I love you."

Zero's eyes went wide at Iris's confession. When he said nothing, Iris lowered her head, believing it to be rejection. However, Zero's eyes soon returned to normal, replaced by a smile. Now it was his turn.

"Iris, you don't know how long I've wanted to hear that…" he cooed.

Iris's eyes shot open, and her gaze returned to Zero.

"Ever since I saw you for the first time, I knew there was something special about you." He told her. "I always thought you were so beautiful, and your cheerful attitude pierced my normally cold demeanor. Every time I was around you, I felt happier than normal. I always wanted to tell you how I felt, but I never got the chance. When you died, it tore me apart, because I thought I would never be able to tell you. Now that you're back, I can finally say what I've wanted to say: Iris, I love you too."

Iris beamed when she heard those words. Her eyes started to tear up again, only this time, they were tears of happiness. Zero removed his helmet and hair band, allowing his long blond hair to flow freely. Iris did the same with her hat and hair band, freeing her long brown hair. They slowly inched their faces closer, gazing into each other's eyes. Then their eyes closed and, in a delicate fashion, the two Reploids pressed their lips together.

The world around them seemed to melt away as they got in their moment. They reveled in the feel of each other's lips, and their arms tightened around each other. Iris ran her fingers through the strands of gold coming from Zero's head while he did the same with her chocolate locks. Zero was surprised when Iris's tongue ran across his lips, practically begging for entrance. He obliged and parted his lips, allowing her tongue to enter his mouth. Small moans escaped both of them as their tongues danced inside their mouths. They enjoyed each other's taste, letting out louder moans. However, even Reploids need air, as they parted 30 seconds later, panting. Happy smiles adorned both of their faces, and Iris rested her head on Zero's chest.

"That felt… amazing…" Iris said, still out of breath.

"You are… too perfect…" Zero panted.

Soon, they heard clapping behind them. Turning their heads, they saw X and the others applauding them. Both of them blushed, as they had forgotten that they had a small audience.

"Congrats, you two." X told them.

"That moment couldn't have been better." Alia commented.

"A textbook make-out session." Douglas added. Zero chuckled and Iris giggled.

"Thanks, everyone." Zero said. His gaze went to Lifesaver. "Especially you, Lifesaver. If it wasn't for your project, Iris would still be dead, and I'd still be miserable."

"Don't mention it, Zero." The white Reploid responded. "Everyone deserves a happy ending to their story."

"Excuse me!" A voice called out. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a Reploid walking towards them. The R symbol on his forehead signified that he was from the Repliforce. "Which one of you is Zero?"

Zero let go of Iris and stepped forward. "That would be me."

The Repliforce soldier held out a small disc-shaped device. "This was found in Colonel's quarters. He wanted this to be given to you if he died." Zero took the device, then he and Iris held it in one hand each. Zero pressed a small button on the side, and a small hologram of Colonel appeared from the top of the small disc. The hologram soon spoke.

_"Zero, if you are hearing this, then my death has come. You are a good person, so I have one wish for you. Now that I am gone, I want you to take care of my sister. I know that you feel something for her, and she feels the same way about you. You are the only person I can trust with Iris. Please, take good care of her."_ The hologram saluted, then vanished. Zero and Iris smiled and looked at each other.

"This is great, Zero." Iris said. "Brother approves of us being together."

"I'm glad he does." Zero responded. "I always wondered what he would think." He looked to the sky. "Don't worry Colonel, I promise I'll make her as happy as possible." He looked back to Iris.

"I'm already as happy as I can be." Iris told him. "I always will be, as long as I have you." Their arms went around each other again, and they pressed their lips once more.

_'Brother…'_ Iris thought.

_'Colonel…'_ Zero thought.

_'Thank you.'_ They thought together.

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**Jeez, I had trouble thinking up words for this! Still, I think it turned out great. I'm not done yet, though, as there is one last chapter, showing future events. Stay tuned for it!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.**


	10. A Much Brighter Future

**This fic was forgotten for over a month, but now I decided to get the final chapter. Call it my Valentine's Day present, even though it isn't a V-Day fic. There's a bit of AliaxXxNana and AxlxCinnamon here, too. Enjoy!**

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Zero's Happy Ending

Final Chapter: A Much Brighter Future

My life has been much better after what happened that day. With Iris by my side, I was much more open with everyone, and I wasn't such a stiff anymore. Signas gave Iris a position as a new navigator at the base, much to hers and my delight. We were more in love than ever, and never bothered to hide it. Some time after the Repliforce coup, Sigma showed up again, trying to crash the Eurasia space colony into the Earth. He unleashed this virus called the Sigma Virus in order to "purify" my body-whatever that meant. Part of my DNA was stolen by him and used to create something deadlier-the Zero Virus. After the final battle, I was severely damaged. Actually, that's an understatement-all that was left of me was my head, upper body, and one arm. A final blow from Sigma presumably killed me, leaving Iris devastated.

She got an even sicker surprise when something called the Zero Nightmare showed up, causing havoc and pinning it on me. X managed to crush that lousy copy, and then he got a surprise: me. I had hid myself away so I could repair myself after Sigma's fifth little stunt. Needless to say, everyone was happy to see me, especially Iris. When we saw each other again, we shared a kiss that was even more amazing and passionate than our first, and we didn't care who saw us, either. Gate, Alia's colleague and the person behind the nightmare, was corrupted by that persistent Sigma and forced to fight us. When we took Sigma down, we found Gate's battered body. X brought him back to the base as his mercy, but he wouldn't stay that way. Since his body was complete, we got Lifesaver on the job. Thanks to his New Life program, Gate was restored. We pardoned him for all that he did since he was under Sigma's control, and he joined the base as a researcher.

Some time after, our own X's doubts about peace led him to withdraw from the front lines of battle. Things went slow after that, leading to our job being taken over by this vigilante group, Red Alert. Douglas and Lifesaver had been transferred to another Hunter Base stationed somewhere else, so it was just me, X, Iris, Alia, Signas, and the other Hunters. I was called to the Central Highway for the first action in a while. It was there that I met Axl, a young Reploid that left Red Alert. He had the ability to transform his appearance, and he was being hunted by Red, the leader of Red Alert, because of it. We took him in to keep him safe. He wanted to become a Hunter, but X was not willing to allow it. Still, he fought with us against the Red Alert members. X snapped out of his funk during this fiasco, rejoining the battle alongside us. When we reached Red, he mentioned someone called the "Professor." After we beat him, the building we were in collapsed. Me, X, and Axl managed to escape, but Red was crushed under the rubble, much to Axl's dismay. Care to guess who this "Professor" was? Yep, none other than Sigma. We managed to take him down for the seventh time, and afterwards, Alia, Iris, and Signas convinced him to give Axl a shot at being a Hunter. After seeing him in action and how he acted toward injustice, he eased up accepted him as a Hunter, never regretting that decision.

Between two weeks and a month later, all heck broke out again. The Orbital Elevator, used to help humans migrate to the moon while the Earth was being restored, was seized by forces led by our "friend" Sigma. The annoying Vile was back, in his fifth version, and he kidnapped Lumine, the director of the Jakob Project, which made the Elevator. We were up against New Generation Reploids, which held Copy Chips like Axl, since he was a prototype of them. They were said to be unable to go Maverick, but they pulled it off somehow, because what I was staring at were Mavericks. We had two new navigators on our side, Layer and Pallette. I was pretty sure Layer had a bit of a thing for me, but she saw that I was with Iris and respected it completely. Eventually, after taking down Vile and a fake Sigma, we found the real deal-what a looker. We crushed him, but he wasn't the true enemy. It was none other than Lumine, who was using Sigma from the start. He was planning to destroy all the humans and "old Reploids" in order to further evolution. Such a freak could never win, as we all crushed him. However, Lumine's corpse lashed out and struck Axl. We brought him back to the base, and he made a full recovery. Based on words that Lumine told us, we believed that Sigma was truly gone for good. The world was at peace, but the future needed heroes, so we were all put in stasis: X, me, Axl, Alia, Iris, Gate, and Signas. As a surprise for me, Iris and I shared a capsule.

We awoke in the year 22xx, 100 years in the future. The Hunters had prospered in the years we were gone, becoming a worldwide-known group. They were officially linked with the Federation, the major law-making body in the world. Axl left for some time, saying he wanted to find the origin of his shape-changing ability. X and I were called to a place called Giga City by the Federation in order to stop a group called the Rebellion. Alia, Iris, Gate, and Signas all stayed behind. I assured Iris that I would be back, sealing that deal with a kiss. While there, we were betrayed by Shadow, a rookie uHunter that Hunter Hunter that was on a mission with us. I was presumed dead after I was blasted off a roof at Lagrano Ruins. That wasn't the case; I just hid for a bit. I infiltrated the Ulfat Factory to take down Mach Jentra of the Rebellion, but I couldn't do it alone. Luckily, X showed up, accompanied by Axl, whom he found in the factory. The three of us combined were enough to crush Jentra and his massive project, Duboar. X told me he had some "introductions" to make, but when I saw them, they were the dregs of Giga City! I decided to go it alone, believing they could go Maverick at any time. However, I met with them again at the Gimialla Mine, and they were fighting that traitor, Shadow. We took him down, but he tried one last shot. The team card shark, Spider, took the hit and dealt the finishing blow. He earned my respect after that, and I joined the team. Not long after, though, Spider sacrificed himself to save us. It reminded me of how I almost lost Iris. I felt so nerve-wracked that I called the base to see if she was okay. Thankfully, she was perfectly fine. We pressed on, and we took down the three main Cadres of the Rebellion: Botos, Ferham, and Scarface. Epsilon, the Commander, was strong, but we managed to destroy him. However, it was really Redips, the Colonel of the base we were sent to, that was the mastermind. He had the same copy ability as Axl, and he was Spider this whole time! He planned to rule the universe with the power of Supra-Force Metal. With the combined power of X, me, Axl, Massimo, Marino, and Cinnamon, we were able to defeat the so-called "Great Redips." We took refuge in an area of the collapsing base Redips was using, and plummeted down to Earth unharmed. Nana, the navigator for Giga City's base, New Hope, launched a rescue team, and we were found within a day. Everyone worked hard to fix up the base, and soon it was good as new. Good thing, too, as everyone from our base was coming by to celebrate. I was happy to see Iris again, as well as Alia, Signas, and Gate. We got an added surprise: Douglas and Lifesaver were with them. They had been put in stasis for 100 years as well. A massive party was thrown to celebrate our victory. During the bash, I slipped away to the roof for some quality time. I sat there watching the stars when she walked up.

"I thought you'd be here, Zero." I recognized the heavenly voice of Iris.

"You can read me like a book, can't you?" I asked her as I turned around. You'd be jealous of me if you saw how amazing she looked. She had ditched her armor and was wearing a beautiful sky blue dress with matching high heels. Her long hair in the nighttime wind, and the glow of the moon reflected off her green eyes, making them glisten. I was in a red tuxedo, because I had decided to dress up. My hair wasn't tied up like normal. She giggled at my question as she came to sit next to me.

"The sky's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked me.

"Yeah, but not as much as you." I replied. I turned back to the sky. "I never took the time to just relax and enjoy the scenery before."

"You know, you missed some funny stuff inside." Iris said, making me turn my head. "Axl's had a crush on Cinnamon for some time. Did you know?" I shook my head. "Well, he finally got the nerve to tell her."

"Let me guess, she didn't know what he was talking about?" I asked.

"Just the opposite." She told me. "Cinny had a crush on him as well."

"Whoa, Axl got a girlfriend? Remind me to congratulate him later." I said. "How'd Duckbill take it?"

"Gaudile nearly flipped, especially when Cinnamon flat-out kissed Axl on the lips." Iris explained. "Massimo had to hold him down to keep him from going off."

That made me chuckle. "What about X?"

"Let me put it this way: he's having double trouble with that."

"Does that mean he's got two people after him?"

"Yep, Alia and Nana. I'm not sure if it's lucky for him or not, but those two seem to want to share him instead of fight over him."

I chuckled again and wrapped an arm around her. "That kind of thing makes me glad there's only one girl after me." She giggled and laid her head on my shoulder. Just then, X came through the door.

"Hey guys, we're heading to this place called the Jounetsu to keep celebrating. You up for it?" He asked.

"We'll be down in a bit." I told him, looking back. He gave a thumbs-up and shut the door. I turned my head back to my moon.

"Hey, Zero?" Iris spoke up.

"Yeah?" I respond.

"What do you think the future has in store for us?"

"I don't know, but I do know one thing." We turn our heads to gaze into each other's eyes. "I'd take any future, as long as you're with me."

"And I'd follow you into any future." She said. We learned in and shared a sweet, passionate kiss under the light of the moon.

Yes, with Iris with me, I would have a much brighter future than I could ever dream of. Lifesaver was right; everyone deserves a happy ending. Thanks to him, when my story ends, I'll have my happy ending.

Zero's Happy Ending

END

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**Sniff... beautiful ending, right? This could transition into a fic named Jounetsu Setsuna by M. Hunter Traubel Trainee, only Iris would be in it. As a matter of fact, most of the X series fics I'll do after X4 will take place as if this story happened instead of the real story, since I hate what happened in the real story. Be sure to check out my other fics!**

**Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.  
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